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THE South West Slammers took another step towards the Women’s SBL playoffs with a win over the Willetton Tigers on Friday night with the Joondalup City Wolves and Lakeside Lightning also recording strong road victories.

There were three games to open Week 17 in the Women’s SBL on Friday night all having significant playoff implications.

They saw the Joondalup City Wolves beat the Perth Redbacks 65-58 at Belmont Oasis with the South West Slammers beating the Willetton Tigers 89-78 and the Lakeside Lightning defeating the Stirling Senators 88-76.

WEEK 17 WOMEN’S SBL PREVIEW

The Friday night Women’s SBL action began at Belmont Oasis with the Lady Wolfpack scoring an important seven-point victory over the Redbacks.

The Wolves bounced back from their loss to the Lightning on Sunday to have now won five of their past six matches to improve to a 10-9 record to remain at least guaranteed of a top six finish, and potentially top four.

The Redbacks have now lost seven of the past eight games to slip to 7-10 and be only just clinging to a finals position.

Chelsea Belcher top-scored for the Lady Wolfpack with 18 points and three rebounds on shooting 7-of-15 from the field, 2-of-4 from three-point range and 2-of-2 at the line.

Shani Amos added 15 points, six assists, six steals and five rebounds for the Wolves while Klara Wischer contributed 12 points and 10 boards, and Ellyce Ironmonger nine points and 11 rebounds.

Emilee Harmon ended up with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists for the Redbacks with Gabby Clayton adding 13 points, five boards and four assists, and Bianca Donovan nine points and four rebounds.

The Slammers hosted the defending champion Tigers at Eaton Recreation Centre with the home team keeping their playoff dream alive with the impressive 11-point victory.

Willetton had come into the game following big wins over Rockingham and Kalamunda to be solid in fifth position, but the Slammers put in a strong showing on Friday night to improve to a 6-12 record and be just one win out of eighth place.

The Tigers got out to a fast start leading 30-22 by the end of the first quarter but the Slammers steadied and by half-time were leading by a point. South West then took over in the final period with 27 points to 15 to come away with the 11-point win.

Courtney Bayliss had a huge performance for the Slammers with 30 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots while shooting 11-of-26 from the field and 7-of-16 from downtown.

Georgia Denehey continued her breakout form with 19 points, five assists and four steals while Raya Thompson contributed 13 points and five assists, Brittany Hodges 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Kate Fielding nine points, nine boards, three assists and three steals.

Stacey Barr did all she could to try and lift the Tigers with 38 points and four rebounds on the back of shooting 14-of-25 from the field, 6-of-13 from three-point range and 4-of-6 from the foul line.

Jess Hootmann worked hard inside for Willetton and had 16 points to go with four rebounds and four assists.

Emma Gandini contributed eight points for the Tigers and Carla Drennan six points and five rebounds.

The Lightning hit back for a disappointing home loss to the Senators earlier in the season with a strong 12-point victory at Warwick Stadium on Friday night.

The win improves Lakeside to a 13-5 record on the season to be in third spot with Stirling now slipping to 12-6 in fourth. But the Lightning do need to keep winning because the Senators still hold the series split on them.

The Senators shot out of the blocks on their home floor to lead 28-17 by quarter-time and were still up by eight at half-time. But the Lightning fired back with a blistering third period with 25 points to eight to set up the big win.

Reigning MVP Ali Schwagmeyer finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Lightning while last week’s Player of the Round Sydnee Fipps delivered 24 points.

Ash Grant contributed 17 points and six rebounds for Lakeside while Sam Roscoe had 14 points, seven boards, six blocked shots and two steals.

Kisha Lee top-scored for the Senators with 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists with Taylor Roberts contributing 18 points and Hannah Throns 14 to go with 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Week 17 of the Women’s SBL continues Saturday with the Perry Lakes Hawks playing the Kalamunda Eastern Suns in Northam and the East Perth Eagles facing the Rockingham Flames.

Then there are another two games on Sunday with the Perth Redbacks facing the Stirling Senators and the Lakeside Lightning taking on the South West Slammers.

FRIDAY NIGHT ROUND 17 WOMEN’S SBL RESULTS
Perth Redbacks 58 lost to Joondalup City Wolves 65
South West Slammers 89 defeated Willetton Tigers 78
Stirling Senators 76 lost to Lakeside Lightning 88

SATURDAY NIGHT ROUND 17 WOMEN’S SBL FIXTURES
Perry Lakes Hawks v Kalamunda Eastern Suns – Northam Recreation Centre 2pm
East Perth Eagles v Rockingham Flames – Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 6pm

SUNDAY ROUND 17 WOMEN’S SBL FIXTURES
Perth Redbacks v Stirling Senators – Belmont Oasis 12pm
Lakeside Lightning v South West Slammers – Lakeside Recreation Centre 3pm

Photo by Vikki Hile